


One More Time

by stephanericher



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-23
Updated: 2019-06-23
Packaged: 2020-05-16 19:52:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,015
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19324960
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stephanericher/pseuds/stephanericher
Summary: Tatsuya had said yes, and he’d meant it.





	One More Time

**Author's Note:**

> for dw user lacksley
> 
> title is the prompt

“One more time?” says Taiga.

It’s between gasping breaths; his raw red palms rest on his skinned knees and sweat sticks his bangs to his face and drips down his chin. His shirt is sticking to his body. So is Tatsuya, and he feels every bit as drained as Taiga looks (and though he tries to keep his breathing even and his pulse normal, there’s only so much control he has). The sun is sinking; they need to go home and clean up in time for dinner, or at least make themselves halfway presentable. They older kids who work day jobs will be here any minute and run them off the court. But they’re not here now; the shadows are long and the light is glowing orange-red, but it’s still there.

“One more time,” says Tatsuya. 

He spins the basketball on his finger, centering his breathing, waiting for Taiga to stand up, and Taiga’s ready before he is. But Tatsuya had said yes, and he’d meant it. He checks the ball to Taiga, and Taiga dribbles. Tatsuya advances, slowly, taking his time, because Taiga’s not advancing yet. And then he does; the breath burns in Tatsuya’s throat but he grapples for the ball as it comes off Taiga’s fingertips, swipes at it but Taiga grabs it with his other hand and pivots. He hadn’t been able to do that last week. No matter. Tatsuya will get it back; he’ll get the first points. He won’t back down.

* * *

They haven’t settled on a new court since Tatsuya got back to the states. The one that was theirs has been fenced off, supposedly under construction, so they’ve had to use different once around the neighborhood. They’ve always played on other courts from time to time, but they’ve always had a home court to come back to, knowledge of the bumps and cracks in the asphalt ingrained in their sneakers. It hurts more because they have less time and less of a leash to play each other, what with Taiga’s prep school team and Tatsuya’s college team, the few precious memories they can add to the collection taking place elsewhere. 

Tatsuya still passes by, often, so he notices when a demolition notice goes up.

“One more time.”

“No,” says Taiga. “We’ll get into trouble; you’re risking too much--what if they arrest us?”

“I can get it all on me,” says Tatsuya. “I can distract the officers.”

“You’re a college basketball player! You have an actual career, and it’s just a court.”

“I’m doing it anyway,” says Tatsuya, because he knows Taiga will follow him, because even though there are so many times in life when they will not get closure, this time they can make sure they do. 

(Besides, the cops have better things to do than arrest two kids for playing basketball after dark when there’s no money involved. Tatsuya’s banking on that, anyway.)

“This is fucking insane,” Taiga says when they’re halfway up the fence, but he doesn’t jump off.

Tatsuya’s done crazier, more illegal things than this, and Taiga probably knows that on some level, but Tatsuya won’t bring that up now. He didn’t have a career to speak of at that point, and he wasn’t involving anyone else, especially other people with something to lose, and--fuck, this is a bad idea. Maybe they should go back down. Tatsuya pauses.

Taiga looks back at him. “Come on. You said one more time, right?”

They barely make it through five minutes of fear-lined adrenaline, every shot and step echoing like the collapse of a building. When they climb back over, Tatsuya’s fingers nearly slip on the chain link fence they’re so sweaty. Since when has he been such a chickenshit? 

When they’re on the other side, Taiga hugs him; his heart is pounding too, and Tatsuya feels worse.

“I’m sorry. You’re right; this was fucking insane.”

“I’m glad we did it, though,” says Taiga. 

He smiles into Tatsuya’s neck and whatever breath was left in Tatsuya’s lungs leaves it.

* * *

They’ve endured several scoldings from the national team coaches about overexertion, have bent over backwards and contorted themselves to promise that they’ll take it easy, but they can still get some gym time alone and that matters more than how goddamn hard it is to get it.

It’s just the two of them, like old times, except they’re decked out in official national team gear, wearing expensive sneakers, Taiga with a shooting sleeve that’s more a style statement than anything (and Tatsuya won’t let him down easy about it.) It’s one more time, and then another, until they’re too exhausted to spit out the words between breaths, and years of conditioning cautions them not to push it too far. They’ll be sore tomorrow, but with iron weighing down their limbs they’ll still jump and swipe and shoot and steal, dribble the ball like they aren’t bound by gravity. After all, they’d made a promise to the coaches.

And they’d promised each other, too, to go all-out in games, even--especially--on the rare occasions that they get to play together.

They sit on the sidelines to catch their breaths, Tatsuya guzzling water that drips down his face, undignified, and Taiga reaches over to wipe it off with the bottom of his sweaty t-shirt. 

“Gross,” says Tatsuya.

“It wicks away the moisture,” says Taiga.

The shirt drops, not enough stretch in it to keep it up, but Taiga’s fingers are still an inch or two away from Tatsuya’s mouth. He leaves them there, his face unguarded. Tatsuya can’t look away.

“One more time?” says Tatsuya.

Taiga’s still looking at Tatsuya’s mouth. “Yeah.”

This kiss is short and sweaty and disgusting in the way that every other one of their kisses in every other gym has been, but Tatsuya would be lying if he said he didn’t enjoy it.

“Ready?” Tatsuya says.

Taiga clearly isn’t, but he stands up and holds out his hand. Tatsuya could force himself to his feet without it, but he takes Taiga’s sweaty hand in his and lets Taiga pull him up. 


End file.
